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Open Recommendations (32 total)

Bureau of Prisons: Additional Actions Needed to Improve Restrictive Housing Practices

GAO-24-105737
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should enhance oversight by developing and implementing a process to verify and document that facilities have implemented corrective actions that fully address all deficiencies. (Recommendation 2)
Open
BOP concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. When we confirm what actions BOP has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Bureau of Prisons: Additional Actions Needed to Improve Restrictive Housing Practices

GAO-24-105737
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7 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should develop and implement a process to routinely analyze administrative remedy program data. (Recommendation 7)
Open
BOP concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. When we confirm what actions BOP has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should develop and implement a mechanism for routinely monitoring the extent to which facilities are applying the SMU placement criteria consistently and equitably across all BOP facilities should BOP reinstate the SMU program. (Recommendation 5)
Open
BOP concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. When we confirm what actions BOP has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should develop and implement a mechanism to identify causes of common deficiencies that recur across multiple facilities and take steps to address those causes. (Recommendation 3)
Open
BOP concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. When we confirm what actions BOP has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should develop and implement a process to address any identified patterns of noncompliance related to restrictive housing policies and other areas of program weaknesses. (Recommendation 8)
Open
BOP concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. When we confirm what actions BOP has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should develop and execute an approach to fully implement all the 2014 and 2016 restrictive housing reports recommendations. For each recommendation that has not yet been implemented, the approach should include assigning implementation responsibility to appropriate officials, establishing a time frame for completion, and monitoring progress. In instances where BOP does not concur with a 2014 recommendation or deems it impractical, it should document its rationale and the alternative steps, if any, it plans to take. (Recommendation 1)
Open
BOP concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. When we confirm what actions BOP has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should develop and implement a mechanism for routinely evaluating SMU review documentation to ensure that incarcerated individuals progress through the SMU program levels in accordance with SMU policy should BOP reinstate the SMU program. (Recommendation 6)
Open
BOP concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. When we confirm what actions BOP has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should conduct an evaluation of previous SMU placements to determine and address the cause of disproportionate representation of individuals in certain racial groups in the SMU population. (Recommendation 4)
Open
BOP concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. When we confirm what actions BOP has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Federal Prisons: Bureau of Prisons Should Improve Efforts to Implement its Risk and Needs Assessment System

GAO-23-105139
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should evaluate its evidence-based recidivism reduction programs, according to the plan established. (Recommendation 5)
Open
In March 2023, we reported that BOP missed dates it previously set to conduct evaluations of its evidence-based recidivism reduction programs. To help address this issue, we recommended that BOP evaluate its programs, according to the plan established. BOP concurred with this recommendation. In response, in September 2023, BOP officials stated that it had initiated and was actively conducting research on 15 evidence-based recidivism reduction programs. BOP stated that its evaluation of evidence-based recidivism reduction programs would be ongoing and evolving, as BOP would be continuously working to evaluate and re-evaluate its programs. To fully address this recommendation, BOP should provide documentation that it is initiating its evaluations of evidence-based recidivism reduction programs on time and that the evaluations include pre-established, quantifiable goals that align with the First Step Act.

Federal Prisons: Bureau of Prisons Should Improve Efforts to Implement its Risk and Needs Assessment System

GAO-23-105139
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Prisons
Priority Rec.
The Director of BOP should use and document the results of its ongoing monitoring of the frequency at which it conducts risk and needs assessments, and take appropriate corrective actions, as needed. (Recommendation 3)
Open
In March 2023, we reported that BOP has not confirmed if its planned monitoring efforts will measure whether risk and needs assessments are completed according to First Step Act requirements and BOP internal timeframes. As such, BOP may not have any results from its monitoring efforts that could be utilized to document and determine whether it is conducting assessments on time and taking appropriate corrective action when it is not. We recommended that BOP should use and document the results of its ongoing monitoring of the frequency at which it conducts risk and needs assessments, and take appropriate corrective actions, as needed. BOP concurred with this recommendation. In response, in September 2023, BOP officials stated they planned to enhance its auto-calculation time credits application to integrate risk, needs, and time credits assessments into a single, monthly automated process. According to BOP, this application will automate and independently generate these assessments and will more clearly document completion of each of these assessments at the intervals prescribed by the First Step Act and BOP requirements. In February 2024, BOP officials stated that it will take at least 1 year after implementation of these changes to generate data necessary to evaluate the need for corrective actions. To fully address this recommendation, BOP will need to implement its monitoring efforts and demonstrate through documentation how they are using the results.
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